I got home and turned on CNN. I’d heard the results on WHFS 105.7 on the way home from the Iowa caucuses, and watched a speech by Hillary Clinton, in which she tried to cushion her rather stunning defeat. She’s not giving up: it is far too early for that, but I can’t help but hear a residual bitterness in her voice (oh, and there’s Senator Mikulski Madeline Albright on her right), because I think she knows what I’m sure a lot of people are thinking: she’s lost the chance for the Democractic nomination.

When you consider how many people reject her candidacy on the basis that it would mean a minimum of 24 years of a member of the Bush or Clinton families in the Executive, combined with how many people loathe her because of her husband, or how many people, when given the choice between her and Barack Obama support the Illinois senator, would choose the latter, I don’t think it is then very surprising that a loss in Iowa (and she’s really dead in the water if New Hampshire — on Tuesday! — goes this same way) means the essential end to her campaign’s viability.

I feel sorry for Chris Dodd — he’s dropping from the race, according to Wolf Blitzer — but I wonder if he honestly expected to do much better than he has? If anyone was going to be a dark horse, I’d've wagered on Gov. Richardson (or, maybe Biden).

I think I’m really surprised that Huckabee has won the Iowa caucuses. He’s an affable conservative Christian, but he’s short on knowledge of foreign current events, and he represents a hoped for restoration of dignity to the White House: sound familiar? Meanwhile, Chuck Norris is standing behind Huckabee as he’s giving his Iowa Victory Speech, and Chuck Norris’s eyes are persuading me to vote for Mike Huckabee, or Chuck Norris will reach through my television set and bash my skull in with my massive lego collection. (I will score him good points for his “not the ruling class … the serving class” comments). While Huckabee has won this early race, I think John McCain is going to wind up giving him a run for his money in New Hampshire. I don’t think Huckabee can relax yet.

And then we come back to the Democrats: Barack Obama kicked ass in Iowa. Fingers crossed for the man next Tuesday, but if he locks New Hampshire — and there’s no reason to think he won’t — I think he’ll have the Democractic nomination for the taking. I know it’s been said before, but there’s a vibrance to the guy that seems comprable to John Kennedy. I wasn’t alive when JFK was running for office, so I can’t speak from actual experience, but I know I’m excited by Obama: he seems like a different class of politician, and represents a possible real sea-change in this country’s current direction.

Now I find myself wondering who Obama’s VP might be. A bit presumptious, I’m sure. While either John Edwards or Hillary Clinton might seem to be early choices, I don’t think either will be. Edwards had his shot at being VP: he and Kerry blew it. As for Hillary, I think the big reason she won’t be offered the slot is for much of the same reasons I listed above. I think Bill Richardson or Joe Biden will be offered that position, in that order. Conversely, should either Edwards or Clinton pull ahead of Obama in New Hampshire and wind up with the party nomination, Obama will be offered the VP.

So. That’s my take on Iowa.

NEW THOUGHT:

I’m watching Larry King. Huckabee is on. He’s talking about pulling the negative commercial that bashed Mitt Romney, and he’s talking about it as an example of what a great person he is. “What else was I going to do?” he asked. His argument was that if he simply announced that he’d pulled the negative ad — without showing it — it would’ve become a news item, with CNN and other networks airing it as news. Okay, point to Huckabee. But, Huck, you didn’t have to talk about the commercial at all. You didn’t have to have that press conference.

Huck was like the guy who, competing for a spot on a porn film, says about his opponent “I’m not going to talk about how he’s a fat worthless tard who no one wants to see naked and can’t even get your dick up to fuck own wife much less a porn actress…” But, dude, you just did say all that! And, Huck: so did you! How disingenous!